It's Sara's Home Now
by Lyla Calm
Summary: The pain of Emily's death still haunts Jason and Alexia. So what happens when Alexia gives birth to a child with such severe health problems that they'll have no choice but to put her in Emily's Home--the hospital named for Alexia's first daughter?
1. Heart Attack

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _Jason smacked the alarm clock with the back of his hand and rubbed his eyes. The sun streamed in through the curtains as he sat up, yawning and stretching.

He glanced at the other side of the bed, where Alexia was sleeping. She rolled over and faced him, her eyes only slightly open. "Is it time already?"

"Yes," he answered quietly. "Did you sleep alright?"

Alexia yawned. "Not really. The baby kept me up all night." She placed her hands on her stomach. "I think he's coming sooner than the doctor told us."

Jason nodded, smiling to himself at the thought of being a father. He and Alexia had been married for only two months when she discovered she was pregnant. And now, nearly eight months later, the thought of being a father had begun to surface in his mind so much more often than before. Emily had almost been like a daughter to him...but she hadn't been in his life for very long before she died. It didn't lessen the pain of losing her to leukemia, but at least he had her mother, Alexia.

He gazed out the window, thinking of what Emily would say if she was still alive. He grinned as he realized that she'd probably make some kind of sarcastic remark, if she was still with them.

Jason got off the bed and went into the bathroom. He showered and dressed himself, then sat down on Alexia's side of the bed. He couldn't tell if she was really asleep, or if she was pretending. He touched her cheek with his fingertips, thinking about how beautiful she was--inside and out. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, then whispered into her ear, "I love you."

The house in which they lived was huge--due to the large inheritance Jason had received from his grandfather. But alot had changed in Jason in the past two years. And alot had changed for Alexia too. The stability that a committed relationship provided was something she'd never had before. And he knew that she appreciated it.

Jason left the room and grabbed his keys on his way out the door. Alexia had left a bagel on the counter for him to take; he smiled as he saw that it was his favorite: blueberry with strawberry cream cheese. _She's the best,_ he thought to himself.

His phone rang as he took a large bite of the bagel. Muttering to himself, he managed to untangle the phone from the mass of cords and electronic devices in his briefcase. "Hello?"

"Jason, this is Miss Hastings."

Jason looked at the number on the phone--she was calling from Hamilton's office.

"Miss Hastings," he said thickly, struggling to swallow the bit of bagel. "What's up?"

There was silence on the other end. "It's--Mr. Hamilton." Her voice was shaky, and she sounded as though she was on the verge of tears.

"What's happened?"

"He's--he's--Jason, he's gone."

Jason dropped his briefcase, spilling the contents everywhere. Mr. Hamilton? Dead? It couldn't be.

"Tell me," he demanded, bending down to pick up the papers he had dropped.

"He had a heart attack about an hour ago."

"Why didn't I hear about this when it happened?" Jason asked her, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"I called you, but no one answered your phone."

Jason swore under his breath. He'd been in the shower, of course he hadn't heard the phone...and Alexia had been asleep.

"Alright," he said finally, feeling like his heart was being ripped apart. He hadn't expected this, he had taken for granted the fact that Mr. Hamilton had several years left to live.

"I'm sorry, Jason. Is there anything I can do for you?" By the quavering of her voice, Jason guessed that she was in more need of comfort than he was.

"Jason?" Alexia came into the kitchen behind him. Her condition made it difficult to walk, but she tried to stand up straight as she looked at all the contents of his briefcase on the floor. "What happened?"

"I'm fine, Miss Hastings," Jason replied, trying to relay the message to his wife through facial expressions. "Are you going to be alright?"

There was a sniffle on the other end, but her voice was steady. "I'll be fine, Jason. I'll make the arrangements for the funeral, if you'd like me to."

"Whenever you're ready. Would it be alright if I came to see him now?"

"Who?" Alexia mouthed silently.

"Yes, Jason, that will be fine. The hospital will be moving him in about half an hour, so you'd better hurry."

Jason hung up the phone and ran to hug Alexia. "It's Mr. Hamilton," he told her, his voice breaking.

There was a small gasp from Alexia, and she rubbed his back as he let his tears fall onto her bathrobe.

* * * * * *

The doctor smiled grimly as Jason made his way into Mr. Hamilton's hospital room. "His secretary told me you'd be coming," he said quietly. "After the initial heart attack, he was relatively peaceful. He didn't suffer for very long."

Tears came to Jason's eyes as he looked at his friend for the last time. It was true, Mr. Hamilton did look very peaceful. He was gone, just as Jason's grandfather was gone, just as Emily was gone. Perhaps Red and Emily were helping Mr. Hamilton through the gateway to heaven at this very moment. Maybe the three of them were smiling down at him right now.

Miss Hastings appeared in the doorway; she was clutching a tissue as if it was her lifeline. "Jason," she said shakily, glancing from him to Mr. Hamilton and back again. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Jason responded. He pulled her into a hug and heard her whisper softly, "He left something for you."

At that moment, Jason didn't really care what Mr. Hamilton had left for him. He hadn't been able to say goodbye to the man who had been his trusted friend and colleague for the past year.

He waved goodbye to Miss Hastings and left for Emily's Home, the children's hospital he had established for families like Emily and her mother. The final construction details had been finalized only a week ago, and Jason had been called to take care of some paperwork.

When he pulled up in front of the marble-white building, one of his colleagues stopped him. "Jason, why don't you take the day off? I heard about what happened. I'm really sorry," the man said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Unfortunately that's not your decision," Jason told him gently, giving him a sad smile.

"I've already taken care of it. I called the guys over at Hinddale, and they said they'd be happy to come by tomorrow."

Jason smiled again, but it wasn't a sad smile. "Thanks, Peter."

"It's the least I can do. Let me know when the funeral is, 'cause I'd like to go and pay my respects."

Jason nodded and told his driver that they would be leaving. "What about Sandra and Mark?" he asked Peter, thinking of the two people who had organized the grand opening of Emily's Home.

"They said that given the circumstances, they'd be willing to postpone it for a day or two."

"Alright. Is everything else ready for the opening?"

"Yes. We've even got the decorations up in the building where we'll be celebrating."

"Excellent. You're the best, Pete."

Jason waved to his friend as they pulled out of the parking lot of Emily's home. He smiled as he realized he would be able to spend some time with Alexia this afternoon--and he thought it might be a good idea to invite Miss Hastings over for dinner.

The limousine pulled up in front of Jason's house, and the first thing he saw when he opened the front door was a blue suitcase next to the kitchen counter.

"Alexia?"

He set his house key down on the kitchen table and listened--there was no reply.


	2. It's Time

He tried again. "Alexia?"

He ran into his room, wondering where she was. In her current condition, it would be difficult to go anywhere-unless she absolutely had to. And what about Renee? The housekeeper was Alexia's helper throughout the day. So both of them were missing?

"Alexia!"

His eye caught a note on the bed-_Jason, gone to Mrs. Howard's house for lunch. _

He let out a sigh of relief as he let himself sink onto the bed. He needed to stop panicking like that-it was the third time that week. His wife was fine, she was safe, she was with friends...maybe it was because he had had to deal with death so much in his life that his greatest fear was losing Alexia and their baby. He hated life being out of his hands-he hated not being able to protect the ones he loved from death. But of course, he would never admit that to anyone.

There was a knock at the door a short while later, and Alexia waddled into the living room, followed by Mrs. Howard.

"She invited me over for lunch," Alexia told her husband, giving Mrs. Howard a smile.

"Oh yes, it was no problem picking her up," Mrs. Howard said quickly. "We had such a delightful time!"

"Thank you," Jason told her, putting his arm around his wife. "I appreciate it."

When Mrs. Howard left, Alexia glanced at Jason, who was pulling snacks out of the cupboard. "Not that I mind, but what are you doing home in the middle of the day?"

"Pete called the lawyers who are handling the paperwork, and they said they'd come tomorrow, given the circumstances. And here's a question for you-where's Renee?"

"She called this morning after you left and said she felt sick. I told her to not worry about coming-and after I got off the phone with her, Mrs. Howard called and invited me over for lunch." She looked at her stomach.

"Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine. Just a little hungry."

"What do you feel like eating?"

"A salad," she answered, heading for the fridge.

Jason removed his phone from the tangle of cords in his pocket. "I was thinking, maybe we could invite Miss Hastings over for dinner."

"That would be nice," Alexia replied, squirting dressing all over the mass of cucumbers in her bowl. "We have some leftover chicken from last night, I could put them in the oven with some barbecue sauce."

Jason licked his lips. "Sounds great."

He called Miss Hastings and left a message on her phone, inviting her over for supper. _She's probably still with Mr. Hamilton,_ he thought to himself. It would be strange, not seeing Mr. Hamilton every day at work. The man had helped Jason to discover what happiness really was. Jason thought about the stories he'd have to tell his children. The only regret he had was that Mr. Hamilton would not be there to share those stories.

Miss Hastings arrived at the house around five o'clock. She looked exhausted, but she had made an effort to clean herself up, to look at least slightly presentable.

Alexia finished cooking the barbecue chicken as Jason offered Miss Hastings a seat at the kitchen table. "Thank you so much, Jason, Alexia. It was very kind of you to invite me here tonight."

"It was nothing," Alexia said quietly, pursing her lips and giving Jason a knowing look. They both believed that Miss Hastings and Mr. Hamilton had been in love, and Miss Hastings' grief seemed to be proof of this.

Miss Hastings dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Are you prepared for the opening of Emily's Home tomorrow?" she asked slowly, gazing at the platter in the center of the table.

"I am," Jason answered, eager to distract her. "You'll be there, right?"

Miss Hastings smiled. "I wouldn't miss it." She spooned some vegetables onto her plate and sighed. "It looks delicious, Alexia," she said quietly, smiling again. But her eyes were clouded over.

"One of my good friends expressed his interest in having his daughter transferred to Emily's Home immediately," Miss Hastings told the couple. "She has a rare but severe form of diabetes."

Jason nodded. He had known it would be difficult, having children like Emily tended in the hospital. But he would be giving the children a new chance at life-a new chance that Emily never had.

Alexia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She gripped the table and closed her eyes.

"Alexia? Are you alright?" Jason looked at his wife in concern.

"I think so," she said after a moment. "I thought-well, I was wrong, in any case." She smiled and looked at Miss Hastings. "Will you come for dinner tomorrow night? We can celebrate the opening of Emily's Home."

"That would be wonderful," Miss Hastings agreed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "And Jason, when I said immediately, I did mean immediately." She gave him a sharp look, and his eyes widened. The young girl of whom Miss Hastings spoke didn't have much longer to live.

Alexia stood up abruptly and grabbed her chair this time, but the panic on her face was unmistakable. "Jason!" she whispered, beginning to sweat. She touched her stomach. "It's time!"


End file.
